


You Had Me @ Hello

by shrugheadjonesthethird



Series: Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Ithaca College, Ithaca Commons, Meet-Cute, One Shot, Serendipity - Freeform, Tumblr Prompt, buggiebreak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 19:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14267958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrugheadjonesthethird/pseuds/shrugheadjonesthethird
Summary: Based on BuggieBreak Prompt: Unseen Powers & Serendipity.(This is my first crack at a prompt. Let me know if you like it or not.)Betty Cooper stay at school for Spring Break in Ithaca, New York. She makes her way into Autumn Leaves Bookstore in the Commons and meets an unexpected person while there.*The location in the prompt is a real place, and if you live near or in Ithaca, New York, I highly recommend Autumn Leaves Bookstore.*





	You Had Me @ Hello

**BuggieBreak Prompt: Unseen Powers & Serendipity.**

 

Betty Cooper was a junior at Ithaca College. She had decided to not make the trip back home to Riverdale over Spring break. She had been having an especially difficult time quelling her building anxiety and surely Alice Cooper would do nothing but make it worse. Betty had called her mother to tell her the news, and of course she wasn’t please, but ultimately, she dropped the conversation with little protest. For this, Betty was relieved.

The campus was deserted in no time as students and faculty made their way back home or to some exotic location for their week and half long break. Tuesday, she said goodbye to her housemates and her friends returning to their homes across the country. Betty was alone for the first time in ages, and the silence didn’t sit well with her. She padded to the large bookcase in her living room that was filled to sleeves of vinyl records. She browsed for a while, but decided that she didn’t want to listen to anything she had. She recalled a small store in the commons that had records in the basement.

In the early afternoon that Tuesday, she decided to talk to the Commons. From her house, it was only about a mile or so. Betty figured the fresh air would help relax her, albeit she wasn’t thrilled it was still a bit cold from the harsh winter they’d had, but after living there for three years, she was, more or less, used to it. She popped hear headphones into her ears and set and long list of songs to get to her destination. She walked out her front door and turned left to follow the sidewalks to the center of town. It was surprisingly warm. She was comfortable in cropped black jeans, a floral tank top and her denim jacket. Her hair up in its usual ponytail, although, she didn’t mind as much when some escaped. She didn’t need it to be perfect anymore.

Ithaca Commons, the center of downtown Ithaca. Betty would go there during the spring for its gallery nights, beer tastings, and various shops around town. There was plenty to do in the Commons to keep Betty occupied for hours: mostly the old bookstore and record shop. Before she knew it, Betty made her way to State Street. She walked to perimeter of the two-block radius lazily. There was nowhere she needed to be. She ducked into a café for a cup of coffee before continuing her way around. She sipped her coffee, and sat on a bench in the middle of the square, watching as people meandered to and fro. She looked longingly at the couples who walked hand in hand, laughing.

Betty Cooper, as we know her, has never been the girl to have someone significant in her life. There was no one in high school was particularly had an interest in. Once she started college, she took it upon herself to keep herself busy with an intense course load and varying clubs around campus. Her roommates had tried to convince her to pledge a sorority, but she was never interested in that kind of life. She spent her night pouring over textbooks, articles and research papers. When she could, she’d write for herself, but it wasn’t coming as frequently as she wanted it to. She had been seeing a therapist near campus to learn coping mechanisms for her crippling anxiety. Her early life of perfection and sunshine was starting to slip away from her, and she couldn’t be happier about it. No one knew of her secret indiscretions, her healed wounds, both physical and mental. She finally felt free of it.

She had been out a few times, with a few guys she attended classes with, but ultimately, they never amounted to anything. Betty Cooper was perpetually by herself, but she had come to terms with it. She watched as her roommates brought varying partners into the house, but Betty just couldn’t bring herself to do that. She kept her nose in a book, consistently in the campus library until close. There just wasn’t anyone that piqued her interest enough to pull her from the safety bubble she had created for herself.

She sat in reverie, watching the happiness around her. She smiled to herself. _Maybe one day_ , she thought to herself. She shook the thought from her head. Her playlist ended as she finished her coffee. She stood up to walk again, making her way to Autumn Leaves Bookstore. It was her favorite place to spend hours perusing their bookshelves. Downstairs, there were boxes upon boxes of records. She never knew what she was going to find. It had been months since she’d been there; she was feeling hopeful to find something new.

The door chimed above her. Her nostrils filled with the smell of old books and coffee; it was one of her favorite combinations. She went to every shelf, careful to look at every single spine to ensure she didn’t miss a rare gem. The store was sectioned off by genre, as most were. The bookshelves had seen better days, but there was an old library charm the shop had that Betty couldn’t stay away from. She drew her fingers across the spines as she walked, waiting for something to jump out to her. Betty loved the classics, true crime, and on occasion poetry, but that was rare. She had begun a collection of first editions and older prints of her favorites, even things like Shakespeare--old leather bound and well loved. She was a certified bibliophile.

She felt at peace, lost in her own head searching the stacks of books. There were a few that caught her eye. She had physically broken the spine of her copy of _The Portrait of Dorian Gray_ and _Lolita_. A new copy of each, along with a rare first edition of _In Cold Blood_. Betty thought it would add beautifully to her collection. There wasn’t too much else book-wise. She thumbed the pages of her newly acquired novels and made her way down stairs to browse the vinyl.

The selection was bigger than she had remembered. She started from the beginning there, too. She took great care with every record she picked up, ensuring it was in good condition. Betty had an eclectic taste when it came to music. She had a soft spot in her heart for classic rock; it reminded her of the times she’d work with her father in the garage. She loved classical music and jazz, as it took her back to the dance classes Alice enrolled her in. But she also loved punk rock and nineties grunge. She didn’t understand it herself, but the variety was always a welcome surprise when she set her music to shuffle.

Her headphones were still placed in her ears, but there was nothing playing. It was a tactic she often used to avoid conversation. As she flipped through the records, she heard something coming from the back corner of the basement. She didn’t notice anyone when she bounced down there ten minutes prior. She took the buds out of her ears to get a better listen. It was someone singing. She looked in the direction of the voice. She could only see the back of the person the voice was coming from.

From behind, he was tall, as she assumed he would be from the front, as well. Wisps of black hair fell from under a gray beanie. She saw suspenders peeking out from under a dark flannel tied around his waist. He stretched his arms behind his head, still blissfully unaware of her presence. She was intrigued by this mystery man. She wrapped the buds and shoved them inside her pocket. Before she knew what was happening, her feet moved her closer to him, as if there was a magnetic pull forcing her. She wanted to know what song it was, she wanted to see the man, she was intrigued to say the least. He stopped abruptly. His voice was beautiful, she hoped he’d continue. Within a few moments, he began again. This time, Betty recognized the song immediately.

“I’m missing you so much, I’ll see you die tonight. Just so I can get to you before the sun will rise. I know the signs are on and I feel this, too. None of that ever seems to matter when I’m holding you,” he sang. Betty began humming along as she continued closer to him.

She had listened to it on her walk to the bookstore, it was one of her favorites in the genre. She kept time in her head as he continued to sing. She made her way next to him, she could barely hear the song coming from his headphones. She began harmonizing with him, without even meaning to.

“I've never seen a smile that can light the room like yours. It's simply radiant, I feel more with every day that goes by. I watch the clock so I can make my timing just right. Would it be okay?

Would it be okay if I took your breath away?” They sang together for a moment. Betty smiled to herself, nearly breathless herself. She scanned the discs in the section next to him. As the section of song ended, he looked up at her. She was still smiling. She looked at the back of a record jacket when she felt eyes on her. She looked up next to her. Her smile dropped to a look of embarrassment. He pulled the headphone from his ears and continued to look at her. Her face was soon painted red.

“Sorry,” Betty started. “I just _really_ love that song, and you sing beautifully. I couldn’t resist.” Betty was nervous as she spoke to the musical stranger. She stared down at her feet. She looked up, her face still warm from the unexpected blush. He smiled bright at her while she fumbled over herself. “It’s very unlike me. I’m sorry for interrupting.” She began to turn on her heels. She felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She turned around and finally got a look at the stranger.

He seemed taller. His features were sharp, devastating. She had never seen eyes as clear and blue as his. She audibly gasped at how handsome he was. Her blush furthered up her ears. She bit her lips together and looked down again, smiling, her face covering half of her face.

He repeated the lyrics to her. “I’ve never seen a smile that can light the room like yours.” She felt the words deep in her soul, like he genuinely meant them. He gave her a warm smile. “Hello.”

“Hello.” She didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was nervous, but she felt it slowly dissipating as she stood with him. “Um, I’m Betty.” She stuck her hand out in introduction. Betty Cooper was raised to be polite, no amount of therapy would change that as it was engrained in her memory.

“Jughead,” he shook her hand lazily, but strong. “Jones,” he finished. There was a shock that hit them both when they touched. Betty pulled her hand back. “A very fortuitous meeting, Betty Cooper,” he smiled again.

Betty felt the butterflies in her stomach flapping wildly. She had never experienced such a feeling in her twenty years. _Fortuitous_ she wondered what he meant by that. He took a look at her selection of books and records she had brought over with her to be near him.

“You are a wonderful creation. You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.” Jughead quoted at her.

“You’ve read it?” She was mildly shocked. He didn’t seem the academic type, but that was just by first impression.

“It’s one of my favorites. I’m on my third copy.” It was his turn to blush. “I guess I just like books better than people, well, most people.” He shrugged and adjusted the beanie on his head; it was a nervous habit left over from years of insecurity.

“Yes!” Betty exclaimed. It was immediately followed by a giggle. “If you don’t stop reading my mind, you’ll have to start paying rent, Mr. Jones.” She let another giggle slip out of her mouth. He smiled again. Admittedly, this is the most Jughead had smiled in a long time.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they both continued to browse the records. They had each looked through the same section twice before Jughead broke the silence. “So, I don’t do this, but I feel like I need to. Would you wanna get some coffee, or something, with me?” He was nervous. He didn’t know what compelled him to ask a complete stranger for coffee, but he felt in the depths of his soul that he needed to know this beautiful blonde girl. Betty tucked a wisp of blond hair behind her ear. She thought for a while. “Sorry, I just don’t think it’s a mistake that I ran into you today; the song, the book, it can’t just be a coincidence. I won’t accept that; there is no possible way this--.”

_That’s what he meant by fortuitous._ Betty couldn’t ignore the butterflies or the pure electricity when they touched. “I’d love to.” She cut him off, finally. They both smiled.

 

\--End--

 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @squids2therescue.
> 
> If this gets a decent response, maybe I'll add to it.
> 
> Also: This is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye0XhDdbFs4


End file.
